Tabula Rasa, now with no FUN!

[Venkman]

Pretty sure the Rikti Invasion that took years to actually enter CoX live was hyped in beta. Or was it that it took place in beta but they didn't talk about it much?

And I think SWG and WoW had events in their betas too, as examples of dynamic content. But those weren't PR'd much.

Hazy memory.

[Yegolev]

The pumpkin-head picture managed to look like a fantasy game.  Where are my fucking pewpewnicorns?

[Nebu]

Pretty sure the Rikti Invasion that took years to actually enter CoX live was hyped in beta.

I think it was.  The sad truth is that I HATE THE FUCKING RIKTI INVASION in its current state.  Events like these are SO much better on the drawing board than they are in implementation. 

[shiznitz]

But aren't these TR events actually during beta? That is how I read it. It is one thing to hype these to the beta players, but quite a new thing to hype them to the public.

[Glazius]

Pretty sure the Rikti Invasion that took years to actually enter CoX live was hyped in beta.

I think it was.  The sad truth is that I HATE THE FUCKING RIKTI INVASION in its current state.  Events like these are SO much better on the drawing board than they are in implementation. 

No, the Rikti invasion actually _happened_ in Beta.

The devs had Rikti "mastermind" NPCs and were calling in Rikti squads on players.

This invasion is automated and tends to lead to a knot of players forming and then Rikti spawning around them and the whole thing turning into a slideshow.

[Lucas]

New patch is being uploaded on the servers. It's going to be the last beta patch; beside the episodic content ("Operation 0" mentioned above), we may get a new patch on headstart or launch day, bar any hotfixes before that.

UI tweaks, chat bubbles addition and other stuff (yeah, I would love to get a job as "patch notes summarizer":P) :

http://www.rgtr.com/news/patch_notes/patch_notes_and_known_issues_109.html

[AcidCat]

I finally downloaded the beta and was actually pleasantly surprised, the game got me interested right away unlike any MMO I've tried since WoW. Staying power? Who knows, but after about two hours of play I'm looking forward to more.

[Surlyboi]

I still like it. This latest patch has introduced some really annoying bugs (It kinda sucks when you can't attack mobs because the buttons you've assigned to do that, or pretty much anything else suddenly stop working for no rhyme or reason) and they've torqued the aggro and the damage tables up on the mobs to ridiculous levels. Of course, the tardcores think that's cool and cries of, "they turned off god mode" abound from that segment of the population...

[Lucas]

Yeah, the constant schizofrenic whining on the beta forums is getting on my nerves: now that the game is finally somewhat challenging, they want to go back to "god-mode".  Before, it was totally soloable and people cried, and now that the Devs dared to make it more challenging, there are threads like "WTF, that enemy actually killed me???".

Hey, nothing new under the sun, ok, but IMO every patch actually polished the game more and more, especially for the first 20-25 levels, adding nice touches here and there. The recently announced features are promising for the endgame as well, so let's see if they can actually implement them without screwing the rest. In every MMOG I play, I usually pay scarce attention to the "nerf" bonanza happening to weapons or armors in-between a patch or the other. As far as I'm having fun with the whole game (as in gameplay in general, enviroment, social aspects...Hence not only combat combat combat and calculating DPS damage with a NASA computer) I'll keep playing.

Unfortunately, what is lacking is the skill system: it's not game-breaking for me, but it surely can for an awful lot of other players. For now it's not varied enough.

[raydeen]

Pretty sure the Rikti Invasion that took years to actually enter CoX live was hyped in beta.

I think it was.  The sad truth is that I HATE THE FUCKING RIKTI INVASION in its current state.  Events like these are SO much better on the drawing board than they are in implementation. 

No, the Rikti invasion actually _happened_ in Beta.

The devs had Rikti "mastermind" NPCs and were calling in Rikti squads on players.

This invasion is automated and tends to lead to a knot of players forming and then Rikti spawning around them and the whole thing turning into a slideshow.

Trip down memory lane:

http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=334.0

In a few of the shots you'll see a tan and white cowgirl hero. That was me. Those weren't my original colors. I got into a supergroup right when the invasion started and those were the colors they had picked. My original colors were dark blue and white. People thought I was a Dallas fan. :D Anyhoo. That was one helluva night. Best end of beta event I've ever been in. It got so crowded towards the end though that a buddy of mine got stuck in the hospital and the game wouldn't let him out because the zone had reached the max number of players.

[Surlyboi]

Yeah, the constant schizofrenic whining on the beta forums is getting on my nerves: now that the game is finally somewhat challenging, they want to go back to "god-mode".  Before, it was totally soloable and people cried, and now that the Devs dared to make it more challenging, there are threads like "WTF, that enemy actually killed me???".

There's a fine line between "challenging" and just plain, "This is the third time I'm tying to do this milk run mission because random spawns just ganked my ass again" annoying. When people say "WTF, that enemy actually killed me, it may not be because they were used to playing in "god mode", it may be because they knew the odds of winning or losing against certain foes and now those odds have changed yet again.

[Velorath]

Obligatory link to Zero Punctuation beta review.

[Signe]

I laughed at the bits I caught.  Unfortunately for me, I don't hear at the speed of light.

[Lucas]

Server names released:

http://eu.rgtr.com/en/news_article/feedback_friday_2

U.S. of A. :
Orion (West Coast)
Cassiopeia (West Coast)
Pegasus (East Coast)

Test Server (East Coast)

Europe:

Centaurus (Deutschland)
---

Hmm, just a single european server. Well, if the game is a "de profundis", at least they won't have to deal with the whole "merges" ordeal a la Vanguard.

[schild]

3 servers for the US?

This is where you ask, do you feel lucky, punk?

[Lucas]

3 servers for the US?

This is where you ask, do you feel lucky, punk?

You do, eh? 

[tazelbain]

So are these servers abnormally large population or is TR floundering from the get go?

[Miasma]

Only three servers would be really pathetic unless they do have some sort of magical tech.  I can't think of an MMO that has launched with so few servers other than EvE and that's a special case.

3 servers for the US?

This is where you ask, do you feel lucky, punk?

Yes, lets start a dead pool for which two get blown away within a year or so.  I say they all get merged to... Orion.

[Surlyboi]

Heh...

"Go to the slopes of Mount Longwayaway and kill five million Freddled Gruntbugglies"

[Trippy]

Only three servers would be really pathetic unless they do have some sort of magical tech.  I can't think of an MMO that has launched with so few servers other than EvE and that's a special case.

3 servers for the US?

This is where you ask, do you feel lucky, punk?

Yes, lets start a dead pool for which two get blown away within a year or so.  I say they all get merged to... Orion.

TR can instance the main zones a la City of Heroes. On the other hand this launch setup reminds me of AA.

[Ghambit]

CoH didnt have many servers at release either (compared to a game like WoW at release), but they also allow free character transfer and even have cross-server chat for that matter.  TR will also have cross-server chat of course.
TR DOES have multiple instances of each zone, so in reality their pushin a LOT more servers then you think.  The nodes trickle away as you gain in level, but as the entire server population grows and levels, eventually more nodes will be added to the upper level zones.

[Lantyssa]

Free transfer?  They did for the US to European servers or such, but they've only now introduce character transfer for CoH as a whole, and it's $10.  (Still a good deal compared to others games.)

[CharlieMopps]

TR can instance the main zones a la City of Heroes. On the other hand this launch setup reminds me of AA.

yuck... talk about instant turnoff. Could this game get any worse?

[Ghambit]

TR can instance the main zones a la City of Heroes. On the other hand this launch setup reminds me of AA.

yuck... talk about instant turnoff. Could this game get any worse?

Honestly, the game really isnt that bad.  And I'm a fairly cynical person. 

[Nebu]

Honestly, the game really isnt that bad.  And I'm a fairly cynical person. 

I think that's the point.  There's a world of difference between "isn't that bad" and "is A LOT of fun".

See the difference?  Us crazy gamers want more of the latter and less of the former yet we're continually disappointed.

[Surlyboi]

Then call me crazy because right now, I'm actually enjoying it. Is it as grindy as CoX? Yeah, that would be my one major complaint right now. Well, that and they need to tone down the difficulty about half a notch.

Will it change the way I view MMOs? Nope, but I sure as hell like playing it right now.

[sam, an eggplant]

Supposedly the first 25 levels are quite playable now. I guess I should try it again; I haven't played since the dang thing was in alpha.

[Ghambit]

Supposedly the first 25 levels are quite playable now. I guess I should try it again; I haven't played since the dang thing was in alpha.

There's a list a mile long of game differences from then till now.  And if they actually deliver the content they promised (within a respectable timeframe) then I see no reason why TR wouldnt be a blockbuster title...  vehicles (they're basically already coded and ready to go, garages and NPCs are already ingame), NPC squads (ala Gods and Heroes, already being tested), flashpoints, PvP contestable areas (ala Planetside), a mysterious playable hybrid race, high level elder instances, more planets... etc.

Regardless how much they add though... it'll still inevitably get old (just like WoW).  But, at least the game will be better.

[Venkman]

they're basically already coded and ready to go, garages and NPCs are already ingame

That's ambience. Vehicle physics themselves are something else altogether. Can someone tell me if the NDA is done? Like, I think the game launches soon-ish but am too lazy to look it up, but still want to abide by the NDA if it's still in place.

[Surlyboi]

NDA is done. Let 'er rip. (Oh, and check the title of the thread  :-D )

[Ghambit]

they're basically already coded and ready to go, garages and NPCs are already ingame

That's ambience. Vehicle physics themselves are something else altogether. Can someone tell me if the NDA is done? Like, I think the game launches soon-ish but am too lazy to look it up, but still want to abide by the NDA if it's still in place.

It's not ambience, it's an element of the terrain and bases that's been added to accomodate later expansion.  Bases in higher level areas are stupidly big and spread out for a reason (so large vehicles can get through unhindered).  The garages with an NPC lady standing there talking about vehicle rentals are there for a reason.  Same with the guy who runs the kennels.

[Venkman]

NDA is done. Let 'er rip. (Oh, and check the title of the thread  :-D )

Oh, yea, I skim "NDA" and assumed it was the same from when it was changed :)

Ok, no NDA.

Ghambit I want you to be right. EIther the later zones they made support vehicles or they rebuilt the earlier ones at the tech level. Vehicles were previously not supportable in this engine outside of the scripted events we see that use them.

[Ghambit]

NDA is done. Let 'er rip. (Oh, and check the title of the thread  :-D )

Oh, yea, I skim "NDA" and assumed it was the same from when it was changed :)

Ok, no NDA.

Ghambit I want you to be right. EIther the later zones they made support vehicles or they rebuilt the earlier ones at the tech level. Vehicles were previously not supportable in this engine outside of the scripted events we see that use them.

Dont worry, I'm right.   
I follow this game fairly religiously these days.  Vehicles are basically all fleshed out.  Not sure if they've made it to the Dev server yet though.  I'm not gonna rehash TR news, you'll see on the playtr site what I'm talking about.  You cant get vehicles until lvl 40, so no reason to even make them uselful in the lower lvl zones- and there's no reason to rush them for release.

You'll be pleasantly surprised when you read the amount of stuff they're planning for this game.  But, planning and implementation are 2 different things.   Also, they've been pretty cryptic with a lot of things until recently (hence the splurge of new info.).  And I'm guessing there will be one more big surprise before launch.

we shall see

[Trippy]

One time when Richard Garriott (aka General British) was on he said that vehicles would be introduced after launch so they are coming assuming the game doesn't tank at launch and everybody gets fired.

[Ghambit]

One time when Richard Garriott (aka General British) was on he said that vehicles would be introduced after launch so they are coming assuming the game doesn't tank at launch and everybody gets fired.

Maybe now that he's probably not going into Space he can concentrate more on the game.  Granted, TR really is Starr Long's game and not Garriott's.  The revolutionary combat system is his baby, and the game would be nothing w/o it.  Best he can do now is consult and dump money into the project or flat out take over if NCSoft abandons it post-launch.